Keep On Playin' My Song
by NeoNails
Summary: My Sky High version of the iPod Shuffle Challenge. 10 songs, on shuffle, 10 drabbles. Romance, drama, li'l action, plenty of fluff, and every possible pairing. Here's part 2.
1. Chapter 1

I just wanted a little burst of inspiration for some of the _Sky High_ crap I'm currently writing, and I decided to use this to test my skills.

I got the idea from a _Hey, Arnold!_ post. The rules are to put your iPod/mp3 player/etc. on shuffle and write a short drabble inspired by each song. The catch is, you have to write the drabble _within the timeline of the song_. Oh, and you can't skip any of the songs, no matter what.

This is going to be difficult as all hell, but I can't say I won't enjoy doing it.

Oh, and because this is a 'challenge,' I'm supposed to tag people. Well, because I like to be difficult, let's put it this way:

**_I tag everyone that's ever had writer's block, or otherwise questioned their ability to write good fanfiction._**

4

**1. "Hold On" by BWitched** (When was the last time I listened to this song?)

_You've always been a tough girl  
__But you feel you're about to break.  
__You're feelin' stuck, and outta luck  
__Watchin' your dreams all slip away._

_Been workin' mornin's in the kitchen  
__And workin' nights at the corner store.  
__As your life flies by, you wonder why  
__And you know that there's gonna be somethin' more._

_Hold on, but don't hold too tight  
__Let go, you're gonna be alright  
__Don't run away from what you're heart is sayin'  
__Be strong, face what you're afraid of  
__C'mon show 'em what you're made of  
__I know it's hard when your hope is gone  
__But you gotta be holdin' on._

Magenta smiled to herself, unable to believe her good luck as she glanced at the tall man sitting next to her. She was sitting in a cramped seat, on a plane that wouldn't be landing for another four hours, and she couldn't be happier.

Really, where would she be without him?

She hated planes. She always had. And yet, she was sitting in the middle seat, _not_ in first class like she'd wanted to, and was surrounded by loud families, impatient businessmen, and generally unhappy customers.

"How are you?" Zach asked her, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"Great," Magenta replied honestly.

* * *

**2. "Girl's Mind" by Play **(What kind of crap do I have on my iPod?)

_You don't get it  
__Don't see it  
__Don't know what I want  
__Don't know how  
__I'm feelin'  
__You got me all wrong, boy  
__So don't you  
__Forget it  
__You'll never get inside  
__A girl's mind._

"Oh, you're so cute," Sue- err, _Gwen_- told him, leaning forward to place a small peck on her boyfriend's cheek. "Now, quickly. Tell me- what kind of weapon will these parts make?"

Will smiled sheepishly, studying the thirty or so different parts that were spread across his bed in plain confusion. "Umm… A shrink ray?" he asked questioningly.

Gwen clapped her hands softly. "Very good. We'll make a superhero out of you yet."

He had no idea what was coming.

* * *

**3. "Light in Your Eyes" by Sheryl Crow**

_You gotta talk to the one who made you  
__Talk to the one that understands  
__Talk to the one who gave you all the light in you eyes  
__All of the light in your eyes._

_Here comes the world and she is__  
__Beautifully mysterious  
__She's got it all and you say,  
_"_Give it to me."_

Layla yawned, stretching her body tiredly as she smiled happily to herself. It was tough working the nightshift at the local diner, but it paid well and it wasn't like there was anyone crazy enough to try and break in or harass her.

The place may have been known simply as Joe's, but it was known to everyone as the only superhero hangout in the city. No one was daring, crazy, or just plain stupid enough to try and mess with this place.

"In lighter news," the reporter announced from the small TV Joe had hooked up across the counter against a wall, "The legendary Stronghold Three- that is, the Commander, Jetstream, and the Enforcer- have successfully defeated another madman in the heart of our fair city."

Layla rolled her eyes when she saw the pan of Will and his parents. Honestly, she wondered sometimes why she married such a total dork.

But then again, as he smiled sweetly into the camera, she wondered how she could not love him, and the light that forever shined in his eyes.

* * *

**4. "She Hates Me" by Puddle of Mudd**

_Met a girl, thought she was grand  
__Fell in love, found out first hand  
__Went well for a week or two  
__Then it all came unglued_

_In a trap, tripped I can't grip  
__Never thought I'd be the one who'd slipped  
__Then I started to realize  
__I was livin' one big lie  
__She fuckin' hates me_

_I tried too hard and she tore my feelin's  
__Like I had none  
__And ripped them away!_

So much had happened in such a short period of time. It was almost scary.

The worst of all had to be Gwen. Or Sue. Or Royal Pain. Or whatever you wanted to call her.

She had really managed to screw with him, and, worse, he never saw it coming for a second.

Layla did. Layla knew Gwen was freakin' nuts, and she tried to protect her best friend from that psycho's misery. And all he did in response was ignore Layla and the rest of his real friends and continue to date his soon to be nemesis.

At this point, Will barely knew up from down, she had him that snowed.

He could only hope he'd never get his ass- and his heart- get so badly kicked by another woman.

Maybe.

* * *

**5. "Fight for All the Wrong Reasons" by Nickelback**

_Well, I wanted you  
__I wanted no one else  
__I thought it through  
__I got you to myself_

_You got off  
__Every time you got onto me  
__And I got caught up  
__In favorable slavery_

Zach took a deep breath, slowly opening the door to his apartment, which he shared with his girlfriend of five years. At the moment, it was less of an apartment and more of a battlefield.

Magenta didn't say a word as he entered the apartment. Instead, she just continued to clean the dishes in their breadbox-sized kitchen, her back tight and stiff with barely contained anger.

After high school, he had met some new people in college, and made friends. Unbeknownst to him, a majority of his new friends happened to be friends with some of the people Magenta hated. Something about bad blood going all the way back to kindergarten, and he had made the mistake of meeting up with all of them and dragging Magenta along with him.

Needless to say, Magenta wasn't just pretending to be a badass punk rocker. Oh, no. She could do some major damage without anyone's help or powers.

Zach was pretty afraid of her.

It was a shame he was also in love with her.

* * *

**6. "Let Go" by Frou Frou**

_Drink up, baby doll  
__Are you in or are you out?  
__Leave your things behind  
_'_Cuz it's all going on without you._

'_Scuse me, too busy  
__Writing your tragedy  
__These mishaps, you bubble up  
__When you don't do what you learn._

_So, let go  
__Jump in  
__Oh, well, what are you waitin' for?  
__It's alright, 'cuz there's beauty in the breakdown._

"That's it," Layla snapped, slamming the door shut behind her. "I've put up with enough of this shit."

"Ooh! The hippie's cursin'! Should I be afraid?"

Layla resisted the urge to sneer. "Knock it off, Warren," she said, walking across the room and snatching the half-empty bottle out of his hand. "I'm tired of this. You've had more than enough time to mourn. Now you just need to step up and act like the man we all knew you as- once."

He didn't say anything. He just watched whatever TV drivel had captured his attention for the past _three weeks_, jaw set stubbornly.

Layla tried not to cry and scream in frustration as she growled, "Your mother died. I'm sorry. But you're _drunk_. And since when has that solved _anything?_"

For the first and last time in her life, she saw Warren Peace cry.

* * *

**7. "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin**

_You're in my arms  
__And all the world is gone.  
__Music playin' along  
__For only two  
__So close together  
__And when I'm with you  
__So close to feeling alive._

It was funny. For a few seconds, in the weeks before Homecoming, there were moments, albeit fleeting, where Gwen almost reconsidered her master plans. Which was insane, because she had been planning this for _decades_.

And yet…

Take today. She was preparing for Homecoming, when Will admitted he had never learned how to dance at his house. They had been studying for Mad Science, but she couldn't focus after she heard that. Laughing, she turned the radio onto a jazz station he _real_ father always used to listen to, and made Will stand up.

From there, she made him learn the correct steps for proper ballroom dancing. After all, he was going to be her date, and she couldn't very well go to a dance with a guy who didn't know how to dance. It just didn't make any sense.

No, _teaching_ him how to dance was what didn't make any sense. Gwen didn't care about Will! She was using him!

Or was she…?

* * *

**8. "My Own Worst Enemy" by Idina Menzel** (This one's going to be hard…)

_My mother's always tryin' to tell me  
__How to be grateful, how to believe.  
__My father's always tryin' to say,  
_"_Baby, you're beautiful in every way."  
__My lover's always got me in his arms  
__Tryin' to protect me, keep me from harm.  
__So why do I always have to be__  
__My worst, my own worst enemy._

No one would believe that Layla could possibly be this self-destructive. And yet, somehow, she managed to hurt herself more than ever. Every time she tried to have a relationship with someone, it always ended badly, for everyone.

And not just romantic relationships, either. Friendships, acquaintances, even her relationship with her parents- it always went sour at some point, somehow. Always.

And then there was him. For whatever reason, he had never left her side. She was a ticking time bomb, about to blow and ruin everyone around her, and yet he was somehow immune to all of the shrapnel she was capable of throwing around.

They weren't even dating, and yet he stuck by her side, refusing to let her down. It was amazing he hadn't gotten sick and tired of her and left.

Instead, Warren just pulled her closer, like he could maybe save her from herself.

* * *

**9. "Bad Girlfriend" by Theory of a Dead Man** (Holy crap! I love this song!!)

_My girlfriend's a dick magnet  
__My girlfriend, gotta have it  
__She's hot, can't stop  
__Up on stage, doin' shots  
__Tip the man, he'll ring the bell  
__Get her drunk, she'll scream like hell  
__Dirty girl, gettin' down  
__Dancin' with guys from outta town  
__Grab her ass, actin' tough  
__Mess with her she'll fuck you up_

_No one really knows if she's drunk or if she's stoned  
__But she's comin' back to my place tonight_

Layla stared out at the mass of gyrating bodies. Why was it that she was here again? Oh, right, Magenta wanted to have some fun for once, which meant leaving her faithful husband behind for once to party with her best friend.

"You don't look like you're having any fun," a deep voice whispered in her ear.

She prepared herself to let down the idiot nicely, but forcefully, taking a big gulp of her beer as she turned on her heel. To her surprise, she happened to know the idiot in question.

"Hi," she strangled out, trying not to choke on her beer as she did. Six feet tall, every inch of it muscle, and drop dead handsome. This was just cruel.

"You need to dance," Warren suggested. "You look too uptight, hippie."

Before she could object, he was slowly but forcefully dragging her towards the dance floor as she polished off the rest of her beer. She was going to need it, if the rest of her night was going to be like this.

* * *

**10. "Silent Movie" by Natasha Bedingfield**

_In this silent movie  
__There's no talking  
__You're just an actor_

_So, break into my story  
__Take it over  
__Paint me with color_

It's hard thinking back to a time when Will wasn't in the picture.

Will Stronghold was Layla Williams' best friend, and she had known him all her life. She didn't know it was like to live without him, as a matter of fact.

But after there short-lived relationship ended, or, more specifically, fizzled out into exactly nothing, Layla was confronted with some new and startling facts. She wasn't in love with Will. He was just her best friend.

That certainly was anticlimactic.

That breakthrough brought about another and far more startling breakthrough. It wasn't Will that had suddenly switched her life into the new and bright colors of an otherwise dreary, black and white life.

With that breakthrough and few others under her belt, she resolved to head off to the Paper Lantern. It was time some other people got to share in her breakthroughs.

4

All in all, this wasn't too bad. I kind of liked it, in fact. There were a few songs that were kind of tough to push through, but I think they all turned out really well. Personally, I like the first one the best, but numbers 7 and 8 turned out pretty great.

It's funny, but I kind of like these Gwen-focused ficlets, which is weird, because everyone knows she's a total whack-job, but it was fun writing from her point of view.

Now, on to replicate this idea with more fandoms!


	2. Chapter 2

I'm continuing to foster my _Sky High _addiction by making a second chapter to this iPod challenge. God, I need a life...

Again, same as before, 10 songs on shuffle (no skipping).

4

**1. "Desperately" by Michelle Branch**

_There's something about the way you looked at me  
__And you think for a moment, that maybe we were meant to be  
__Living life separately  
__And it's strange that things change but not me wanting you  
__So desperately._

In the blink of an eye, everything can change.

And it's usually never for the better.

She wasn't sure when it happened, but by the time it was over, her life and the relationships in it had gone from almost perfect to almost nonexistent. She had managed to screw everything up in matter of only a few words and a few minutes.

The worst part was that it wasn't until she had ruined things beyond all imagination that she finally realized what she had done to herself. Well, that was only partly true. It took her about six years of slumming through some of the shittiest jobs in her life before she came to this heartbreaking conclusion. Of course, at this point, she was six years of living in squalor and forty-four of wasting her time plotting and planning, so it was a little late for revelations and regrets.

To Gwen, the sad part was, she got a second chance- and didn't even figure it out until she'd gone and ruined it all for herself.

* * *

**2. "Story of a Girl" by Nine Days**

_Your clothes never wear as well the next day  
__And your hair never falls in quite the same way  
__But you never seem to run out of things to say_

_This is the story of a girl  
__Who cried a river and drowned the whole world  
__But while she looks so sad in photographs  
__I absolutely love her  
__When she smiles._

There was something about Magenta Zach could never get enough of.

It wasn't that she overly beautiful; she certainly was pretty, in his opinion, but that wasn't it. It wasn't her clothing styles, either; he liked bright colors that matched his mood and powers, so black, purple, and plaid never really ranked high on list of "fashion dos."

It was her essence. It was everything that made Magenta… Magenta. It was how she wasn't afraid of anyone or anything, and how she favored independence over being "just another sidekick without a brain."

There wasn't any specific thing he could definitively pinpoint about her, but it was everything that made up Magenta that made him love her.

* * *

**3. "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin** (I wish none of you had to see this…)

_She's into superstitions  
__Black cats and voodoo dolls  
__I feel a premonition  
__That girl's gonna make me fall_

_She's into new sensations  
__New kicks in the candlelight  
__She's got a new addiction  
__For every day and night_

Ethan was a good kid. Everyone knew that. Actually, everyone preferred to use the term "nerd," but the two were essentially the same thing.

That was why he couldn't understand what was happening to himself. He didn't expect to have a crush on the most unexpected girl.

He didn't even know her name. She used hang out with the rest of the villain-wannabes, and he'd (literally) ran into her in the cafeteria. She was everything he had never wanted in a girlfriend. In the first thirty seconds of meeting her, he learned she was loud, abrasive, short-tempered, and apparently into "voodoo."

This was a bit too much for a guy who planned on his cover career to be an accountant. Or maybe a math teacher.

* * *

**4. "My Boo" by Usher and Alicia Keys** (Somehow, I'm even more embarrassed than with the Ricky Martin.)

_It started when we were younger  
__You were my-  
__My boo  
__Now another brother's takin' over but it's still your eyes  
__Even though we used to argue it's alright  
__I know we haven't seen each other in while  
__But you will always be my boo._

Things hadn't gone quite as planned, but that was life. Nothing ever went as planned; it was just God's way of making sure nothing ever became predictable.

That was what Will liked to tell himself, anyway.

Layla Williams was his first love, and he was her first love. However, just because they _loved_ one another didn't mean they were _in_ love. Funny how important something as insignificant as a preposition could turn out to be.

She had a new boyfriend now, but Will wasn't going to let that bother him. He was still her best friend, and she was still his. Something as unimportant as a breakup would never change that.

* * *

**5. "Bug Bytes" by Alien Ant Farm**

_Too much of nothing these days.  
__You often hold me tightly.  
__I owe you everything.  
__You must be going crazy.  
__Opinions stacking nicely  
__And I'm still promising.  
__Of all those precious moments  
__With tremble- it's just on us.  
__We're only to unwind.  
__Your legs have wrapped around me._

Layla had never been saved before. She was a superhero. She never expected to need a reason to be saved by someone else. She just assumed she'd always be able to save herself.

And, yet, there was a day when she found herself being saved.

She was knocked to the ground and had every intention of kicking the villain's ass because of it, but was stopped by his .9 mm. Another idiotic assumption she had made in the past was that supervillains would have no use for guns. She was proved wrong on more than one account that day.

Warren saved her that day. Warren! She hadn't seen him since his graduation, and yet, here he was, sending a pretty little ball of fire the villain's way and knocking the unconscious (and smoldering).

That was the third thing she learned that day.

Heroes come in all kinds and shapes- even the ornery ones.

* * *

**6. "Another Place to Fall" by KT Tunstall**

_Are you blind?  
__Blind to me tryin' to be kind?  
__Volunteerin' for your firin' line  
__Waitin' for one precious sign.  
__A flicker of a smile-  
__You should try it just once in a while.  
__Maybe it's not quite your style.  
__Simply too easy to do  
__You might not see it through._

"You just need to relax," Magenta told Layla soothingly as she handed her over a cup of chamomile tea.

"I'm finding it kind of hard to do so," Layla replied, taking the tea gratefully. She brushed a few locks of red-gold hair out of her face and bit her lip.

"It's no big deal," Magenta said, leaning her hip against the counter of coffee shop where they had agreed to meet a few hours before.

"I've hit rock bottom," the redhead said. "I not only got drunk and made an ass of myself at the Strongholds' party, but I also slept with possibly the most emotionally distant person I have ever met."

Magenta rolled her eyes. "The possibly most emotionally distant person you have ever met that you've just so happened to have a crush on for the past year."

Layla snorted, staring down into her tea, which was rapidly cooling. "That," she replied, "Is completely and totally irrelevant."

"Tell that to Warren."

* * *

**7. "S.O.S." by Rihanna **(I have the most ridiculous mash-up of songs)

_S.O.S. please  
__Someone help me  
__It's not healthy  
__For me to feel this  
__Y-O-you are  
__Making this hand?  
__I can't take this thing  
__It don't feel right._

Life couldn't get much more frustrating for Layla.

"He's never going to figure it out," she moaned one day at the Paper Lantern, towards closing time, while Warren cleaned the few tables that were still messy.

"You could've made him figure it out," Warren said, his voice low and raspy. He tended to get grouchy when she spent her nights at the Lantern with him, instead of moping around at home like any normal girl would do.

"No I couldn't! He'd already been asked out by _Gwen Grayson_," Layla protested, pushing around the remains of her dinner dejectedly.

"You didn't have to ask me."

"I told you I was sorry," she shot back, shooting an aggravated look at her new friend. Warren could really be a pain sometimes.

He just grunted in response, so Layla took that as permission to go back to mourning aloud.

"I never thought he'd actually _ask_ her. She's a senior."

Warren rolled his eyes as Layla continued her unrelenting chatter. Some people would never figure it out. And he wasn't thinking about _Will_ with that thought in mind.

* * *

**8. "Unwell" by Matchbox Twenty**

_All day  
__Starin' at the ceiling makin'  
__Friends with shadows on my wall._

_All night  
__Hearin' voices sayin' tellin' me  
__That I should get some sleep  
__Because tomorrow might be good for something._

Will never became a superhero like his parents. It was hard to believe, by 100 percent true. Around junior year, he had what the docs liked to call a "psychotic break" and had to go off to a "special rejuvenation clinic" so he could get back to feeling his best.

Translation: He went psycho one day in the science lab and threw a few tables and chairs at a few people, and wound up sending a few more to the hospital. As a result, he was shipped off to the nuthouse until the local quacks deemed him "fit for society."

He never went back Maxville, or Sky High, for that matter.

He missed how things used to be sometimes, but with all the drugs they kept him on ("for his own safety." Translation: so he didn't use his superstrength to break out.), the memories he still had of his old friends were far and few between.

* * *

**9. "It Sucks" by Skye Sweetnam**

_It's just a simple kiss and  
__No one has to ever know.  
__What she doesn't know won't hurt her  
__As long as I don't let it show._

_We'll keep it just between us.  
__Bottled up inside.  
__Just our little secret- I'll be  
__Playin' dumb and actin' shy._

She had nothing against Jenny Frost.

If anyone asked, she would say she liked Jenny, and she wouldn't be lying. Jenny was a very sweet, likable sophomore, and she certainly seemed to be making Warren happy.

She wasn't purposely trying to be intentionally cruel to Jenny; she just couldn't stop herself. Every time she and Warren were alone together, they just couldn't stop fooling around. It was like there was some kind of magnetic force between the two of them that neither could deny.

She didn't want to do this. She wasn't that kind of girl. She didn't cheat, and she certainly didn't like stealing other girls' boyfriends. It wasn't in her to be like that.

Maybe it was Warren's fault. If he wasn't so damned irresistible, Layla would be able to keep her hands to herself.

* * *

**10. "Bottle It Up" by Sara Bareilles**

_There'll be girls across the nation that'll eat this up  
__Babe, I know that it's your soul, but could you bottle it up?  
__Get down to the heart of it, no it's my heart  
__You're shit out of your luck  
__Don't make me tell you again, my love, love, love, love  
__Love, love, love, love_

"Is it possible that a guy can sometimes be _too_ romantic?"

Magenta lowered her trashy tabloid magazine to arch a questioning eyebrow in Layla's direction. "No," she said slowly, "I don't believe it is."

"Oh," Layla said, sighing dejectedly as the little Chinese woman sat before her, filing her short nails into perfect rounded edges. "Is it bad that I feel that way about Will half of the time?"

Once more, Magenta lowered her magazine to stare at her friend in wonder as she waited for her to finish up her manicure. "Yes," she said, "Yes, it is."

Pausing, Magenta asked, "If you're feeling this way, have you ever considered that maybe you'd appreciate these romantic gestures if someone _else_ was doing them, instead of Will?"

Layla didn't have a response.

4

Yet again, I liked how these turned out. I think I liked numbers 1, 3, and 9 the best.

Oh, and if you haven't figured out yet, I'm a Layla/Warren shipper, so you're bound to see a lot of that, but I've tried to be objective and not write a lot with that pairing. I think I did better in the first go-round, but I'm still happy I wrote an Ethan-centric one, along with a Crazy!Will one. I did not expect that one, but I think I did well.


End file.
